


Heroes Don't Always Wear Capes

by Writer_Geekgirl



Series: Castiel and Dean: An AU Love Story [21]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alternate Universe - X-Men Fusion, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mutant Registration, Mutant Rights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-05 15:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16369940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer_Geekgirl/pseuds/Writer_Geekgirl
Summary: In the ongoing series in which the Winchesters visit alternate realities, Dean travels to the X-Men universe where he's married to a superhero named Angel, who happens to be that reality's Castiel. Dean discusses mutant rights with Xavier and Magneto.This work is part of the Destiel Promptober in which there is a different AU theme for each day in October. The AU for the day is X-Men/Mutants





	Heroes Don't Always Wear Capes

Dean, Castiel, and Sam had fully intended to take a couple of weeks off after Dean's return. Sam and Castiel were exhausted from searching for Dean, and Castiel had not recovered all of his grace from the rescue. Dean mostly felt like himself but wanted to be with his brother and angel. Unfortunately, you don't always get what you want. When Claire had discovered a large nest of vampires in a rural section of Oklahoma, they were the closest to go help her.

The hunt had gone smoothly, despite Castiel's lack of grace. The vampires were beheaded, and Claire was already on her way to her next hunt. Dean, Castiel, and Sam, on the other hand, were hanging out at a bar, relaxing and drinking beer.

Dean said, "Remember 15 years ago, we had as much energy as Claire. We're getting old, Sammy."

Sam snorted, "Getting old beats the alternative."

Castiel looked between them, confused, "Alternative?"

Sam smiled that they could still confuse Castiel, "Dying, Cas. The hunter alternative to getting old is dying during a hunt."

"A blaze of glory," Dean retorted. "I always thought we'd go out in a blaze of glory."

Castiel looked at them both icily, "There is no glory in death during a hunt."

Dean sighed. He patted Castiel on the knee under the table and said softly, "It's just a saying."

Castiel leaned over and kissed Dean on the cheek, looping an arm around his back and tugging him closer.

Dean noticed a group of men staring at them. Dean whispered, "Not here. We shouldn't do that here?"

Castiel raised an eyebrow. Dean wasn't big on public displays of affection, but he didn't usually mind it to this degree. He removed his arm and pulled away. "Why?"

"Know your audience, Cas. Those guys are probably intolerant assholes." He tipped his head in the direction of the men staring at them.

Castiel glared, "So we change our behavior because of their archaic attitudes? If they cause problems, we can easily handle them."

"Humans shouldn't end every disagreement in fist fights, Cas. Sam, help me out here."

Sam responded, "Dude, I'm on Cas' side. It's been a while since we been in a good bar fight."

"Who are you and what the hell happened to my pacifistic brother? You sure I came back to the right reality?"

Sam drained his beer and stood up before saying, "I just think sometimes you have to stand and fight. People have been far too quiet for far too long. Cas, I wanted you to translate something from Enochian for me. Want to go back to the hotel with me?"

Castiel stood up and followed Sam after glancing at Dean apologetically. Dean sighed. He just wanted to relax and was tired of fighting.

One of the men walked over and plopped down in the seat across from him. "So, are all three of you together?" The man sneered at the word together.

Dean snorted, "What's it to you? I'm just having a beer here."

"It's time for you to go join up with your friends, pretty boy. We don't like your kind here."

Dean smirked, "You mean the dashingly handsome kind?"

The man yelled, "Get out." 

Dean stood up. "You going to make me?"

The man responded by standing up and attempting to punch Dean in the face. Dean grabbed the man's arm, twisted it, and pounded his face in the table. He looked at the man's friends. "Anyone else want to take a turn," he growled, "or can I just drink my beer in peace?"

When the three men stood up and approached him, he positioned himself ready to fight. Suddenly, the world tilted, the air felt charged with energy, and he started to black out. "Son of a bitch. Cas."

\---------

When he woke up, a warm body was snuggled against him and something heavy draped over him. He opened his eyes to see Castiel looking back with a gentle smile. Dean knew Castiel had draped a wing over him. He was surprised it was white instead of ebony.

Castiel said, "It's time to wake up, sleepyhead. I have to help Ororo hold a training session, and you have a history class to teach."

"History?"

Castiel slid out of the bed, "History, like you do every day at 9:00. Did you have a bit much to drink last night, Dean? I keep telling you Remy is a bad influence."

The names Ororo and Remy sounded familiar. Where did he know those names from? Dean sighed; skipping to an alternate reality during a bar fight was incredibly bad timing. He worried what was going on at the other end.

Castiel took something from the closet and went into the attached bathroom. Dean sat on the edge of the bed. He had nothing on. He also noted some rather striking hickeys sprinkling his chest and had some sore muscle. The Dean on this side apparently already had a very physical relationship with Castiel. 

When Castiel came out of the bathroom, he was dressed in a formfitting black leather outfit. The leather had trim that formed an X across his chest as well as a round belt buckle with an X within a circle. Castiel stretched his wings out complete for a moment before shaking them a bit. When a few feathers drifted slowly to the ground, Castiel said, "Dammit. Damn wings are starting to molt again. I hate this time of year."

Dean gasped, "You're Angel from the X-men." His mind raced as he realized that he must have been talking about Ororo Monroe, otherwise known as Storm, and Remy LeBeau, Gambit, of the X-Men.

Castiel tilted his head and squinted his eyes at Dean. "I have been since high school. I was when we got married five years ago. I will always be Angel. I'm not changing my team name no matter how many times you ask. It is not girly."

Dean protested, "No, no. It's accurate. It's better than my team name." Dean tried to fish for information.

Castiel snorted, "Your team name is History Teacher Who Is Always Late for Class. Professor X is going to lecture you again."

Dean felt crestfallen for a moment. It was just his luck to be in a cool superhero world without any powers. Castiel must have sensed how he felt because he sat on the bed next to him and put an arm around him. "It's ok that you aren't a mutant, baby. My stupid power is flying around and healing myself. It'd be much cooler to be Iceman, Wolverine, or Gambit. Now, get dressed, grumpy."

When Dean was finished dressing, Castiel was standing near the doorway. He looked at Dean tensely, "What did you do?"

"Um, nothing?"

"The professor just told me to escort you to his office."

Dean rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure being summoned to the office of the most powerful telepath in the world was not good news for a guy hopping a ride in someone else's body. "Cas, things might get weird, but don't worry. I'll be fine in the end."

"You're scaring me."

Castiel escorted Dean through the hallways of the school. Dean saw about ten teenaged kids heading into classrooms, including one that didn't bother to open the door but simply phased through the wall. He gasped, "That's Kitty Pryde."

Castiel stared at him. "Did you hit your head or something?" Castiel opened the door, "Your brother is already in there."

Dean stepped gingerly into the room. Sam was standing next to a desk in an outfit similar to Castiel's. So, little brother got the mutant powers. Dean sighed. The doors on the other end of the room opened, and a man with shoulder-length dark hair in a wheelchair entered the room. Dean looked at him interestedly and thought to himself, "So, it's McAvoy and not the Stewart version." A moment later, a taller man walked in the same doorway. Dean's jaw dropped because the man looked like Michael Fassbender. Dean said, "Holy shit, Magneto."

Castiel elbowed him in the gut. "Hi, Professor. I brought Dean by as you asked." He hissed under his breath, "Behave."

Sam looked at Dean, "That's not my brother."

Dean protested, "Yes, I am. Just not the immediate you's brother."

Magneto arched an eyebrow and said, "Charles, have you let someone infiltrate your school?"

Charles responded, "No, he's Dean. He's just not our reality's Dean all the way. There are two versions of Dean inside him. Our version is asleep, while the other reality's is dominant."

Dean explained, "Dude, it isn't my fault. There's something, someone yanking me around from universe to universe. I don’t want to be here. I mean it's cool, superheroes and all. This just ain't my gig. I fight monsters -- vampires, demons, werewolves, wendigos, ghosts, vengeful spirits, wraiths, ghouls. Did I mention demons?"

Castiel said, "You can stop now, Dean."

Dean replied, "Stopping."

Charles said, "He means no harm and he's telling the truth. He seems to be traveling through the multiverse. That is fascinating."

Sam grumbled, "I sense he is hiding things. Shouldn't you scan him deeper, Professor? Are you sure my brother is fine in there?"

Charles responded, "Phoenix, I don't need to scan any deeper to know he means us no harm and will not be here for long. Just because you can read someone's mind, doesn't mean you should." Dean stared at Sam. Phoenix is supposed to be a woman with red hair, not his gigantor brother. That was a plot twist he didn't see coming. Charles continued, "Can you please step in to teach history in Dean's stead, Sam?"

Sam started to open his mouth to argue before closing it and walking out. Dean said to Charles, "Dude, he's a handful in every reality. Let me tell you."

Castiel looked tense, "When did you inhabit my Dean?"

"This morning. Dude, whatever did last night was probably pretty epic but was with your Dean."

Castiel blushed.

"If he's not a threat, Charles, can we go back to our discussion?" Magneto said. 

Charles snapped, "There is no discussion, Erik. It is safer to keep the children out of the limelight, to teach them to blend in and not draw attention to themselves."

Magneto growled, "They shouldn't have to be ashamed of who or what they are. We should be loud and vocal against the mutant registration act. We should show them how many there are of us in numbers and support is growing everywhere. Civility at this point will get us nowhere."

"It will keep them safe."

Magneto threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "Their safety is an illusion. It will last only until they come to these walls and take your children. Then what will you do? Teaching them to blend in isn't a strategy."

Charles retorted, "The X-men are our voice. They are the face of the mutants. Helping people, saving things. We will not expose our students to harm. It is not their role to fight."

Magneto growled, "The fight will come to them. It will come to their schools. To their workplace. To their doors."

"What would you have me do, militarize the children?"

"To teach them to stand tall and be proud of who and what they are. The numbers of mutants are ever growing. The current people in power will not always stay in power. We should teach society that mutants live peaceably among them. Our job is to protect and nurture them, not to make them hide who and what they are. Homo sapiens have come to their time of reckoning."

Dean looked up at Castiel standing next to him. Castiel's eyes flicked between the others, listening keenly to their arguments.

Dean interrupted, "Human here. Can I interject something?" Magneto glared at him. "Humans and mutants can learn to live together. Got proof right here with me and Cas. Been married… was it five years, Cas? By speaking up, more and more families will realize that their sister, their brother, their father, their mother, their uncle, their aunt, are mutants. Hell, my brother is a mutant. I always knew that--size mutation for sure. Have you seen my parents? No way they produced someone that tall without some gene doing something weird. Isn't there some compromise between your opinions? Both of which are totally valid." Dean shrank against the wall, as he caught the glare of two of the most powerful mutants on the planet. He looked at Castiel for a bit of reassurance that he wasn't about to get splatted against the wall like a fly. Castiel draped an arm around him.

Charles said, "Maybe instead of sequestering them here, an outreach program would be better. Try to put resources in their schools and neighborhoods to try to let them live in society but still have guidance and support."

Magento responded, "These are dangerous times, my friend. It is hard to tell how to approach the problem. But approach it we must. Our people should be allowed to live freely and to be themselves."

"It will be a tough battle, Erik. We will break through barriers only to find new barriers. In the end, we will prevail."

Dean felt the familiar crackle of energy as he started to slip back to his reality. He was disappointed; he didn't actually get to watch mutants fight in some heavy Marvel movie epic fashion. When he woke up, he was laying on the floor of the bar. Castiel was kneeling next to him. Sam was standing above them, rubbing his knuckles.

Castiel asked, "Are you all right, Dean? I sensed you calling out to me, so we returned to find them injuring you. They won't be a problem any longer." He gestured to the unconscious men.

Sam handed the bartender some money before saying, "I hope that pays for repairs. Let's go, guys, before cops arrive."

After they got in the Impala, Dean said, "You know, I went to an alternate reality. Those dumbasses didn't punch me out."

Sam snorted, "Sure, Dean. Sure."

Dean looked at Castiel. "You can kiss me wherever you want. Anyone says anything, we'll kick their asses."

Sam said, "No, kiss wherever you want except in front of me. I've been traumatized enough with your UST over the years."


End file.
